Chapter Three Identifying Stakeholders and Issues

  Canadian Business and Society: Canadian Business and Society: Ethics & Responsibilities Ethics & Responsibilities Chapter Three Identifying Stakeholders and Issues

  Chapter Outline

  Stakeholder: Definition

  

  Identifying Stakeholders

  

  Managers’ Responsibilities

  

  Opposition to Stakeholder Concept

  

  Argument for Stakeholder Concept

  

  Issues Management

  

  Issues Management Process

  Stakeholder: Defnition

  An individual, or group, who can influence and/or is influenced by the achievement of an organization’s purpose.

  Source: Freeman, 1984

  

  Why are stakeholders important to a firm?

  

  What can happen to the firm if managers do not properly identify and satisfy the interests of their firm’s stakeholders?

  

  Do stakeholders have differing goals and power/influence over time?

Chapter 3 Discussion Questions

  Identifying Stakeholders

  Owners

  

  Directors

  

  Employees

  

  Customers or consumers

  

  Lenders and creditors

  

  Suppliers

  Identifying Stakeholders

  Service professionals

  

  Dealers, distributors, and franchisees

  

  Business organizations

  

  Competitors

  

  Joint-venture participants

  

  Non-governmental organizations

  

  Society at large

  

  Educational institutions

  

  Religious groups

  

  Charities

  

  Service, fraternal, cultural, and ethnic associations

  

  The media

  

  Government

Chapter 3 Identifying Stakeholders

  

  Identify stakeholders

  

  Understand how corporation currently views stakeholders

  

  Examine how each stakeholder will or might influence firm

  

  Assess opportunities and threats

  

  Rank stakeholders by influence

  

  Prepare programs or policies detailing how to cope with stakeholders

Chapter 3 Managers’ Responsibilities

  

  Problems of categorization (e.g., how to identify and prioritize stakeholders)

  

  Challenges in meeting expectations (e.g., tradeoffs among the stakeholders)

  

  Dilution of top management focus (e.g., away from financial performance)

  

  Impracticality of shared governance (e.g., focus still on shareholders)

Chapter 3 Opposition to Stakeholder Concept

  

  Simply good business

  

  Ignoring stakeholder interests can have substantial economic consequences (e.g., employees, customers, lenders, etc.)

  

  Provides more systematic approach to recognizing stakeholder expectations and deciding how to respond

Chapter 3 Argument for Stakeholder Concept

  Issues Management: Defnition

  A systemic process by which the

corporation can identify, evaluate, and

respond to those economic, social, and

environmental issues that may impact

significantly upon it.

   Issues Life Cycle Stages: 

  Degree of awareness of issue over time (none or little; increasing; prominent; peak; declining)

Chapter 3 Issues Management

  Issues Management Process 1.

  Identification of issues 2. Analysis of issues 3. Ranking or prioritizing of issues 4. Formulating issue response 5. Implementing issue response 6. Monitoring and evaluating issue response

  Sources: Carroll, 1989; Bryson, 1988

  Group Exerciseyou all belong to – like a university - or you all know well (an organisation that In a group – identify one organisation the company. Questions:\ airline) – discuss the stakeholders of that you use – like a beer company, an 2.

  1. stakeholders? How does the organisation manage its How many stakeholders does it have? 3. stakeholders? organisation better at managing its What do you think would make the 5. What are the opportunities or threats 4. influence? Can you rank stakeholders by stakeholders? posed by the most influential